AUTOMATION AND INDUSTRIAL CONTROL
Overview
Factory and plant automation combined with system monitoring makes our modern world possible. Oil refineries, power plants and distribution networks as well as manufacturing facilities all utilize various forms of industrial control and automation. Limelight XE™ also supports industrial automation capabilities by utilizing drivers that add protocols to the system. These drivers abstract the automation protocols and create uniform devices that can be monitored or controlled.
Many standards have emerged that provide a uniform way to communicate with hardware such as motors, heaters / chillers, valves and as well as Programmable Logic Controllers (PLCs). One standard is Modbus TCP which is an automation protocol designed for access over standard Ethernet physical layers. Many hardware manufacturers support this standard including Limelight XE™ via the Modbus driver. Other protocol drivers will be available in the future. If you have a particular need, please contact us for further information on additional drivers.
A common way to build an automation system uses an industrial computer called a Programmable Logic Controller (PLC) and many also support Modbus TCP protocol. If you already using PLC based automation systems, Limelight XE™ can immediately integrate with your existing infrastructure providing a uniform mechanism to monitor and control your facility. This can be as simple as a single PLC controlling irrigation or HVAC to complex processing for manufacturing.